Twenty Colorado Police Agencies That Arrest the Most Black People by Population

USA Today set out to discover if the racially lopsided arrest statistics in Ferguson, Missouri, where unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot to death by a police officer, were an anomaly. Sadly, no: A fascinating new report reveals a racial gap in arrest stats in many locations across the...

By Michael Roberts

November 19, 2014

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USA Today set out to discover if the racially lopsided arrest statistics in Ferguson, Missouri, where unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot to death by a police officer, were an anomaly. Sadly, no: A fascinating new report reveals a racial gap in arrest stats in many locations across the country, including at least twenty here in Colorado.

We broke out USA Today's Colorado numbers and ranked the twenty agencies according to how many blacks were arrested per 1,000 residents -- and the results are startling. Check them out below, and to see the complete USA Today piece, click here.

Number 20: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Number 19: Boulder County Sheriff's Office Number 18: Larimer County Sheriff's Office Number 17: Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office Continue to keep counting down the twenty Colorado police agencies that arrest the most black people by population. Number 16: Douglas County Sheriff's Office Number 15: El Paso County Sheriff's Office Number 14: Denver Police Department Number 13: Mesa County Sheriff's Office Continue to keep counting down the twenty Colorado police agencies that arrest the most black people by population. Number 12: Parker Police Department Number 11: Castle Rock Police Department Number 10: Fort Collins Police Services Number 9: Colorado Springs Police Department Continue to keep counting down the twenty Colorado police agencies that arrest the most black people by population. Number 8: Longmont Police Department Number 7: Littleton Police Department Number 6: Aurora Police Department Number 5: Westminster Police Department Continue to keep counting down the twenty Colorado police agencies that arrest the most black people by population. Number 4: Arvada Police Department Number 3: Broomfield Police Department Number 2: Englewood Police Department Number 1: Lakewood Police Department

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

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